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I am a believer in serendipity and coincidences and the amazing power it has in our lives. Hey one of my favorite sayings is “coincidences is gods way of being anonymous.” In a book by Glenn Llopis titled Earning Serendipity he talks about serendipity and the 4 steps that build pathways to prosperity. [www.earningserendipity.com/the-book.php]
The one that really resonated with me was seeing with circular vision. He describes that when you broaden your observation beyond what you seek and beyond the obvious details in front of you, you enlarge your field of opportunities.
I think that’s so true! I was a one person show until I received an unsolicited call from someone looking for work. Rather than being dismissive we spoke for a bit and he shared that he had designed his own magazine in Ireland. Coincidentally I learned earlier that day that I was chosen to design a magazine, something which I felt completely unprepared for! Hence my first employee.
I comfortably search within conversations in business settings for links, the numerous aha moments with surprise connections. You know, where did you grow up, what book did you just read and love? And when I network for business it especially helps me to feel less awkward. Where my difficulty seems to arise is comfortably doing the same with family and friends for “business” aha moments. Finding the links that might lead to business referrals seemed too tacky.
Maybe this comes easier for men, you know over a round of golf with pals the conversation naturally shifts to business connections. I hate to generalize but not so for women. Conversations with our friends tend to drift towards our children or the most recent guy in our lives. Of course we might complain about work or ask for business advice but asking friends or family for business connections seems to be pushy and personally speaking almost taboo.
I’m seriously trying to rethink my point of view and will attempt to use the powerful tool of “serendipity” in all phases of my life. HELP! Any thoughts or advice on how to get there please share.
–Ann Byne, Principal of The Byne Group
Marketers are enthralled by Gen Y's youngest partner, the Millennials and for very good reason: They are an important market today and will become even more important as they graduate, hopefully start jobs, and spend money.
Because one of the markets we do work in is colleges, I can't get enough on the subject. Today I read with interest an article at media post by Jack Loechner about 200 Students from the College of Journalism at University of Maryland who unplugged all their media for 24 hours. (http://www.mediapost.com/publications/?fa=Articles.showArticle&art_aid=127323)
I have a nineteen year old nephew and if you spend any time around any 18-22 year olds you know gadgets are like appendages to them. They can't imagine life without their cell phones and iPods. So what caused the most anxiety for these 200 Millennial's in the study? One student wrote, "This technology craze has become so deeply ingrained in each of us we know no other way of living our lives, but to rely on our cell phones, laptops, televisions, and iPods to keep us occupied and connected with the world around us..."
Daily text-messaging by teens has "shot up" dramatically in the past 18 months, according to a new study, "Teens and Mobile Phones," from the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project. The study also said nearly 75 percent of 12- to 17-year-olds have cell phones, hey no surprise here. And the love affair between teens and texting will only continue to grow. An interesting dilemma as marketers try to stay connected to this generation in a honest and meaningful way.
–Ann Byne, Principal of The Byne Group
Just when I though I heard it all I came across a term that was a new one for me “TRADIGITAL” on a post written by fellow Pratt Graduate David Darmano. I checked the term out and it’s not in any dictionary or on Wikipedia but it is a very simple way to understand the link between traditional and digital marketing.
To me simple is always good when I give seminars. I like using “outbound vs. inbound” to describe the difference between new and old media. With outbound we send our messages “out” to the world, using all forms of traditional advertising. With inbound we depend on people finding us and coming “in” and hopefully sharing with their contacts their experiences, hopefully positive. But what links the two together? Enewsletters, eblasts, ecampaigns, banner ads fills that gap. With these tools we have the opportunity to say what’s on our mind and tell our own stories about our firms. Then if we have added interesting links we get to hear opinions and a conversation can begin. The best part, we can evaluate what works by those responses; who opens it, where they go, who opts out and who passes it on. But what do we call that link?
As I was preparing for a seminar I was giving to the Association of Development Officers last week in Westchester I decided to use the term “tradigital” and see how my audience responded. It was fun watching peoples expressions and even more fun when they tried to say the tongue twister for the first time! Thanks David, it has real stickiness and it will definitely be in my next seminar as well! Check out David at darmano.typepad.com.
–Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group
“Brands are stories, containing a promise to perform, at every possible contact point. These stories are accepted or rejected by consumer audiences based on performance.” –Neal Mendelsohn, Chief Experience Officer at Fourth Wall, LA
I agree with Neal, stories matter. It’s the way potential clients are engaged, acquired and retained. In my years helping firms with branding and marketing I sometimes see a gap between the promise a clients story makes and the experience people might have. What I try to stress moving forward with them is the importance of an honest message. Hiding our real capacity from other people will eventually lead to diminish our capacity for real. This is not about lying, it’s about being transparent. And once you cross the line it becomes a slippery slope becoming impossible to ever catch up!
Whenever I give seminars on branding and social media I use a great definition Howard Levy, Principal of Red Rooster Group shared with me.
Promise + Experience = Brand
I like it because it’s such a simple way to understand that an experience that doesn’t live up to a firm or organizations promise impacts how their brand is seen not to mention their bottom line. The lesson that keeps resonating with me is something a mentor shared with me years ago, “under promise and over deliver.” It sounds so simple and so logical that we almost take it for granted. And now with social media and ambient awareness, it’s a big, virtual world out there and whether you like it or not, people are talking about you! Every time you can give more than promised it’s like giving a little present that people aren’t expecting.
*Oh, and by the way Neal Mendelsohn is my very talented cousin. (My dads brothers left NY to follow their dreams in California in the 60s and their kids never looked back) Visit his blog: staytruetoyourbrand.com
–Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group
The Power of “Nostalgic” Marketing Inspired by Collecting
I’m not sure why, but I collect flower frogs and doorknobs. I don’t arrange flowers frequently and I really don’t need the doorknobs, but I just can’t stop. It’s the emotional connection I have that compels me to collect. I have other collections as well. Crate labels, coins, and of course as a designer, I collect bits and pieces of art, wood type, advertising and designs I find interesting and inspiring.
For me, the items I collect are points of inspiration. I tend to surround myself with these items as constant visual stimulation. Others may display collections in their homes as décor. In most instances though, our collections are nostalgic ties to our past. We have memories connected to these objects.
Today I find myself even collecting people. Yes, people. With the invention of Facebook, I’m finding myself wrapped up in nostalgia. Connecting (and collecting) people from my past. Each new connection brings back a memory. Sometimes not so great, but overall memories that are positive, and make me feel good inside. Don’t think the people running Facebook and other social media applications haven’t picked up on this. It’s a form of Nostalgic Marketing, and it’s working!
Creating an 
emotional connection with your audience is one of the most important objectives when trying to get and keep ones attention. We strive to make these connections with our design strategies at The Byne Group with each project we work on. Many times I look to my collections for inspiration or try to find out what others collect, both physical and emotional, to come up with an idea. Using a certain font or color combination may be all it takes to evoke a nostalgic, emotional response from a particular audience.
Some companies are re-introducing the nostalgic product itself as a marketing strategy such as Ford’s re-launch of the Mustang, and Coca-Cola’s vintage glass bottle packaging. Other companies, like VISA, are banking on your nostalgic connection to visual stimuli by using vintage footage in their recent Olympics sponsorship commercials. Then there are the companies that want you to start collecting products. How many times can you remember the end of a commercial yelling, “Collect them all!”
Take a look at what you collect. What is your particular audience collecting or have a nostalgic (emotional collection) attachment to? Video games, barbed wire, milk glass, Facebook friends? Whatever it is, it can become a powerful tool in your marketing and design strategy.
-Amanda Holt, Art Director, The Byne Group
I don’t believe social media will ever replace the need for business development people or traditional marketing but in the new economy it definitely needs to be a part of your marketing arsenal.
Traditional branding is a top down approach with companies, both profit and non-profits defining their own brand. The difference today, brands are being defined by conversations, by what people say both good or bad about your firm. Is this how your firm is engaging clients?
Promise + Experience = Brand
Core values of a firm are created internally, but the branding of the promise happens outside by how clients experience you. In today’s environment where every firm offers “quality services, on time and under budget,” it is difficult to differentiate. Difficult unless you have built trust and relationships in the market place. “Look at it this way: "Traditional marketing was like taking a sledge hammer and hitting your prospects and clients over the head with it. It was almost like, “Believe me, or else.”
Branding today is like a magnet that draws clients to the company a “trust agent." This is the real value and purpose of social media in a business context.
Facebook and LinkedIn are already well established. And your firms’ employees and clients under the age of 40 use Twitter and text messaging as a part of life. So, this is definitely not a fad. Social media is the place where you cultivate your brand in the new economy and where ambient awareness is a way of life. And yes like everything else worth doing it takes thoughtful strategy and a real commitment of time to do it right.
–Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group
Parts excerpted from: engineeringdaily.net
How are you getting through this tough economic time?
Last year during our regular Monday morning meeting I broached the subject about the economy with my team. Lets talk about our future? None of us knew exactly how things would play out and yes I was more than a little nervous. What I did know and shared with them was, now more than ever, our clients needed to know how valued they were and we needed to approach their assignments no matter how small, as if it was our first and only chance to prove ourselves. We’ve worked very hard this year and we’ve been lucky, our clients are all still in business and happily, not one of them has gone elsewhere.
While a growing business needs to constantly have new customers, the focus must be on pleasing your existing customer base. From my experience companies that fail to nurture and retain their clients ultimately fail. I remember when the dot com was all the rage in the 80’s (ok, so I’ve been around awhile). Firms I knew were dropping their clients pursuing the glitzy new kid on the block! Sadly when it all went bust many of those firms went out of business.
According to an article in Harvard Business Review “Building Relationships” shows where many companies are headed, and all must inevitably go if they hope to remain competitive. The key distinction between a traditional and a customer-cultivating company is that one is organized to push products and brands whereas the other is designed to serve customers...”
–Ann Byne, Creative Director/Principal of The Byne Group
Harvard Business Review: http://hbr.org/2010/01/rethinking-marketing/ar/1
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